While the new year brings about personal goals and sometimes a desire for change, it also brings about amendments and additions to state laws. Here in the state of California, no less than 725 laws are taking effect! While not all are relevant for the building and design community, one in particular (AB 715) is. This bill brings about a change to the California Green Building Standards code, focusing on making buildings in the state more energy efficient.

Dubbed Assembly Bill No. 715, this piece of legislation focuses on water conservation and how it relates to efficiency. In particular it discusses low-flush water closets and urinals, and sets a higher standard to be met by January 1, 2014. The bill calls for high-efficiency water closets to operate at 1.28 gallons per flush and urinals to operate at no more than 0.5 gallons per flush by that time. This is significantly less than the 1.6 gallons per flush for water closets currently in effect, that California enacted in 1991. In 2010, fifty percent of the total number of models sold had to satisfy this standard. It then increases seventeen percent in 2011, eight percent in 2012, etc. until 2014 and after. To monitor all of this, each manufacturer will have to submit a report, in writing, with the percentage of models sold that satisfy high-efficiency standards. One section within the bill allows any city, county, or city and county to allow the installation and sale of non low-consumption water closets or urinals if the configuration of building drainage systems requires more water to flush the system. It will be very interesting to read the reactions to the bill over the next few months, but organizations have already been taking sides.

Support is certainly divided among some big names within the state. Those in favor of this legislation include the City of Los Angeles, San Diego County Water Authority, and the Association of Water Agencies. They argue that this legislation will save as much as 8 billion gallons of water per year, within the ten years it will take to reach full implementation. Those against include a who’s who of the building trades, including the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), California Building Standards Commission (CBSC), and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The main point of the opposition is that this bill goes against the established standards set forth by the DHCD and the CBSC, a process that has functioned for over thirty years. In the end I believe this is a step in the right direction and we need to continue down this path, though it is best if everyone can agree on a set of guidelines.

Looking forward to this year there is a lot to get excited about. This law is just one piece in the green building standard we have set up, and there will be many more changes as this state and others get more aggressive. We would love to hear how this bill might affect you, and whether or not you agree with the route it took to take effect. Let us know in the Forums and start this year off with some healthy discussion!